


Taking Baby Steps

by xSerenite



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Co-Parenting, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Smut, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Firefighter!Steve Rogers, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining, Nerdy!Reader, Past!Tony and Pepper, Sexual Tension, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, domestic life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:21:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24135007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xSerenite/pseuds/xSerenite
Summary: It felt like you weren't doing much with your life, minus working at home and running your own little online store for your little nerdy key chains and crafts. But after agreeing to be the Godmother to Pepper and Tony's daughter, Morgan, tragedy strikes and you find yourself co-parenting with Morgan's gorgeous Godfather, Steve Rogers.
Relationships: Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Reader
Comments: 22
Kudos: 144





	1. Chapter 1

The very first time you met Steve Rogers was at the Stark baby shower.

Honestly, the man was extremely hard to ignore. Tall, built, and beyond saving handsome, you had to be blind, deaf and mute to not know that the man existed.

It also didn't help that you literally landed in his arms while you were helping with the last minute decorations. You, Natasha, Wanda, Bucky and somehow Tony were on decoration duty while Pepper was currently sitting on the love seat, watching everyone with a non alcoholic drink on hand. Offhandedly, she would throw in some input and talk about this and that while everyone was running around, getting ready for the party to start. And as you were putting up the biggest poster on Earth, with the help of Bucky since he was the tallest at the moment, the door bell had rung and Pepper got up to go answer it. Your back was turned, your attention completely on putting this damn poster along the archway entrance to the main room; Tony's bear of a dog, Thor, had came out of nowhere and ran past the small stepping stool you were using, causing it to jolt forward and of course, whatever balance you had was gone in an instant.

“Oh my God, (Y/N)!” you heard Pepper and Bucky shout as you squealed, falling to the side. Bracing for a possible hospital visit, you shut your eyes tight, waiting for the impact.

It never came.

“Holy shit, dude...” you heard Bucky mutter nearby, causing you to slowly crack open your eyes, only to be lost in two pools of baby blues, “I don't think I've ever seen you sprint that fast before.”

“You alright?” Mr. Baby Blues, who you later found out was Bucky and Tony's best friend Steve Rogers, asked you, giving you a small smile behind his clean cut beard.

It took you a few seconds to realize that Steve was currently holding you bridal style, you hugging one arm close to you, while the other was resting against his closest broad shoulder. You were breathing heavily, trying to register what just happened as Pepper was calling out for her husband and scolding the family puppy at the same time.

“Y-yeah,” you muttered quietly as Steve had gently placed you back on your feet, still a little disoriented. You were about to say thank you, but then another person showed up, the beautiful woman instantly getting Steve's attention as he smiled widely and went straight for her.

Despite that bit of a scare, the decorations were finished and the party was a hit. You spent most of your time, hanging out with Pepper, Wanda, and Natasha, talking and gushing about the past and the baby. And as discretely as possible, you would side eye Mr. Baby Blues, waiting for a good moment when he didn't seem like he was busy, so you could properly thank him for literally saving your life.

That's when the girls had mentioned that he was married (because _of course_ he was) and not wanting to seem intrusive...

You never got that chance to say thank you.

***

The second time you met Steve Rogers was at the hospital.

You got the phone call from Bucky that Pepper was in labor and everyone was on their way to the hospital. You and Steve, who was alone this time, both entered the elevator at the same time, him easily recognizing you as you looked up from your phone. Unlike the last time, Steve was beardless, dressed in a simple white t-shirt and jeans but damn, that shirt was too formfitting.

“Hey, Mr. Rogers,” you greeted as he pressed the button to the delivery floor.

“You can call me Steve,” he corrected, giving you a friendly smile, “Saying Mr. Rogers makes it sound too formal.”

“Okay, _Steve_ ,” you corrected yourself, quietly fidgeting with your phone, “I... I never got the chance to say thank you at the baby shower.”

“No need," he held up a hand, “I'm just glad you weren't hurt.”

Nodding silently, you gently took his hand, which he seemed to encase with his large ones and gave you a firm handshake.

“I'm (Y/N), (Y/N) (L/N),” you then introduced yourself before the elevator doors opened to your destination.

It felt like hours before Tony came out of the room, looking exhausted but smiling. You had been sitting with Natasha, Wanda and Hope, who you met during the baby shower when it started. Steve had been with Bucky, Hope's fiance Scott and Sam, who you had also got the chance to meet at the shower.

“Morgan's here,” was all he said before everyone got up and congratulated him.

It wasn't long until you found yourself in Pepper's hospital room. You were currently holding tiny Morgan in your arms when Tony and Steve walked in. Looking up, you smiled gently, before handing the baby back to her mother and excused yourself so you could go back to the waiting room and allowed Steve his time in the room.

“Wait, (Y/N),” Pepper spoke up quietly, as she held her daughter, “Tony and I actually want to speak to you and Steve about something.”

Blinking a few times, you slowly turned and stood next to Steve, who was standing at the foot of Pepper's hospital bed.

“What's up, Pep?”

Pepper merely smiled as she looked at Tony, her husband and now father of little Morgan Stark, looked back at her before turning his attention to the both of you, “We have a proposition for you two.”

You blinked while Steve rose his brow, only for Pepper to roll her eyes at Tony.

“What he means to say,” Pepper spoke up, smiling at the both of you, “Is that _we_ want you two be Morgan's Godparents.”

Pepper and Tony never had to ask you both twice.

***

The third time you met Steve Rogers was at the funeral.

It was raining that day and your eyes were still red, wet and puffy. You had been crying non stop since you got the phone call that had you drop everything and rush to the hospital. Wanda was quiet when she called, but you could easily hear it in her voice that she had been in tears as well. On their way home from a work party, Tony and Pepper had been victims of a drunk driving accident. Luckily, Morgan had been with a babysitter at the time, but unfortunately, both Pepper and Tony would not make it.

You had been sharing an umbrella with Natasha, who had her arm around your shoulders as the funeral continued. You had been silent the entire time, tears still rolling down your raw cheeks as two matching caskets were slowly lowered into the ground. Once the caskets were lowered, one by one, everyone who attended the funeral gently tossed a white rose. Once it was your turn, you gently dropped your rose on Pepper's casket and that's when you broke. Pepper had been your best friend, practically a sister you never had since you met her all those years ago in college. The two of you had been through it all, from past relationships, dumb mistakes, good things and she even stayed on the phone with you all night, despite it being the night before her wedding and you were back home, attending your grandmother's funeral. It had hit you the hardest when you got that call and just seeing the casket, instead of her. While you cried, you didn't realize that Steve was behind you and you felt his hands on your shoulders, before he wrapped one around you and lead you away. You cried onto his black jacket, not even caring about the world. After you had calmed down, you found yourself sitting on one of the chairs, the canopy shielding you from the rain.

“S-sorry,” you apologized when you looked at Steve, who had been sitting with you the entire time. He merely gave you a gentle smile, letting you go as you pulled away.

“Don't worry about it,” he reassured, leaning back onto the white plastic chair and staring at the dark sky, “I know it must be hard...”

You nodded silently, “Y-yeah...”

As the funeral came to a somber close, Sam had came up to you and Steve. What you had learned not that long ago, Sam Wilson was Tony's family lawyer for the past few years, but Sam had also been one of Tony's good friend even before Sam became a lawyer.

“This feels so weird,” Sam couldn't help but say when he walked up, “Never in my life, would I think I'd be standing here like this... At least, not now.”

“Hey Sam,” you and Steve greeted, Steve and Sam giving each other a firm hand shake, only to pull one another into one of those bro hugs. You merely gave him a friendly hug.

“Anyway, I have something I have to speak to the two of you about,” Sam said after awhile of just chatting, “I don't want to rush you two, but it is important that we speak, especially since it's about Morgan.”

And here you were. Within a few hours, you and Steve were sitting in Sam's office. Morgan was currently placed in the middle of the both of you, quietly sleeping in her car seat. You were staring down at the tiny 2 month old, every so often fixing her baby blanket or even checking on her every time she moved in her sleep. Steve was on Morgan's other side, his eyes staring down at the baby as well, his brows furrowed, his mind elsewhere.

“Okay, sorry for the wait,” was the first thing Sam said as he returned, “I had to make sure I had everything.”

Once again, Sam had both yours and Steve's attentions as he sat down, placing a pile of documents on top of his desk and gently sliding them to the both of you.

“As you know, Tony doesn't have any immediate family and Pepper only has her parents, but I'm not going into too much detail about that,” Sam spoke as he looked at the both of you, “Tony has been working on a will for some time, but unfortunately, we weren't able to finish it. Pepper was aware as well and they were extremely specific about Morgan if anything did happen to them.”

As Sam was speaking, you were currently looking through the Will, the majority of it not really pertaining you specifically, give or take some little trinkets that Pepper wanted to bequeath to you; however, you couldn't help but make a noise when you got to the end. Both Sam and Steve, who was looking at Sam the entire time, then reverted his attention to you.

“I take it you saw the end of it?” Sam asked. You could only nod quietly before you handed it over to Steve.

“Is this for real?” Steve asked when he saw what was in the Will document.

“They want _you_ two to become Morgan's guardians until she is of age,” Sam spoke after a moment, folding his hands together, “For the most part, Tony and Pepper's money is all going to Morgan, but to help with the situation, they're giving you both a half of the house. If things don't work out or anything, we can work on something regarding the house; however, it will have to be after Morgan's of age.”

You had absolutely no idea what to do or say. You practically just inherited a baby, a house and became a co-parent to a man whom you only met 3 times. Granted, Steve did not seem to be the type of man who would take advantage of you or put you in any danger (the guy rescued you the first time you met). And he was one of Tony's and Bucky's best friends...

Sam had continued with more details, answering any questions or concerns you and Steve had regarding the situation. But at the end of the day, this was all for Morgan and there was no way in hell were you going to abandon the poor child, especially for the sakes of your two best friends. You did agree to be Morgan's Godmother and you you were going to see through it to the end.

It was still raining when everything had been finished up. You grabbed your bag as well as Morgan's baby bag while Steve zipped up Morgan's seat cover to shield her from the rain. The both of you bid Sam a goodbye and now found yourself standing side by side, outside and under the cover of the building.

“... Is your wife going to be okay with this?”

Steve merely glanced down at you, “Under certain circumstances, I would say no.”

You side eyed him and he chuckled lightly, before shaking his hand.

“Divorced.”

Instantly, you tilted your head down, looking at Steve's hand and found no ring there what-so-ever.

“ _Oh_.”

Well, that explained _a lot_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this felt rushed and choppy, but I feel like I needed to do this to establish everything and how you and Steve even ended up in this situation. Hopefully, the rest of the story flows better. Lol. I haven't wrote fan fiction in forever, but decided to try to come back into it. See you in the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the second chapter! Hopefully this flows a little easier than the last one~ Lol. Enjoy!

After the whole meeting with Sam and now being the new parents to a little bundle of joy, you and Steve went your separate ways to grab some stuff from each other's apartments to bring over to your shared new house. After exchanging numbers, you mutually agreed to take Morgan with you instead of Steve, seeing as he lived about an hour away from the city. Well, that explained why you rarely saw the guy. That and the other reason why was because Steve Rogers was—is a fire fighter.

Lord.

Have.

Mercy.

Sitting on your couch, you were feeding Morgan and quietly watching TV to pass the time, that was until you hear the vibration of your cellphone. Turning your head, you see Nat's name on your screen and without disturbing Morgan's dinner, you hold your cell with your shoulder.

“Hey, Nat.”

“Hey Mama,” she answers from the other side of the line, “So, I heard what happened. Congratulations~”

Your lips curved a bit, Morgan finishing up the bottle, “I have to burp her real quick, lemme put you on speaker.”

Placing the bottle on the small end table next to your couch, you then place your phone on the armrest after putting Natasha on speaker.

“Alright,” you speak up, gently placing Morgan against your chest and shoulder, your arm securing her in place as you gently pat her back, “You still there Nat?”

“Yeah,” she says after a moment, “How you holding up? You at the house yet?”

“It still hurts,” you admitted after a moment, “But, I'm not going to abandon Morgan and let her go through the system. And, at the moment we're at my apartment.”

“ _We_?” You could practically see her eyebrow raise up, “Rogers too?”

“No!” you practically yelped, but hushed yourself right after, “I mean me and _Morgan_. Steve lives an hour away and we still have some stuff to take care of before we move in the house. I actually have to call my landlord in the morning and see if I can break my lease a few months early.”

“Ah, that's right, you have your renewal soon.”

“Mmhmm.”

Your conversation with Natasha continued, even after you had finished up burping the infant. And after an hour of talking, you finally hung up and checked the time. It was starting to get late and Morgan was pretty much in a food coma. You couldn't help but chuckle lightly, staring down at the sleeping child in your arms.

“Poor baby...” you muttered as you placed her used bottle on your kitchen counter.

You decided to hang out on your couch for another hour, wanting to finish another K-drama episode you were watching, you had placed Morgan on the bouncer that was on the floor, bouncing her gently as you watched the new episode.

“Hello?” you answer your phone, which had vibrated whist in the middle of your show.

“Uhm, may I speak to (Y/N)?”

It was Steve.

“Hey Steve,” you greet lightly.

“Hey (Y/N),” his voice was deep, “I just wanted to check up on you and Morgan.”

“We're doing alright. We had dinner and she's currently in a food coma and I'm watching TV.”

“Solid,” he chuckled, “Oh, and I just wanted to let you know that tomorrow night I have overnight duty at the station and I was wondering if you needed me before then to help with your stuff.”

Wow, this guy was sweet.

“Oh... Uhm...” you hesitated for a second, “I mean, you live pretty far...”

“If you makes you feel better, I was going to drop off some stuff to the house and I work at the station there.”

“Really?”

Another chuckle, “Really.”

You spoke for another few minutes, giving Steve your address and giving him the run down for a few bigger things you wanted to send over first. Luckily for you, Mr. Baby Blues had a pretty nice truck and he was going to help convince Bucky to help out as well.

“Alright, I'll see you tomorrow morning,” you smiled through the phone.

“See you tomorrow morning and have a good night, (Y/N).”

“You too. Good night, Steve.”

After your show had ended, you got up and picked up Morgan, taking her to the bathroom to clean her up for the night. She somehow managed to sleep through a quick bath, diaper change and you moving her around as you changed her onesie for a pajama one. Though, the second you placed her in her bassinet (Bucky had thankfully dropped it and the bouncer off to you earlier and helped set up the bassinet next to your bed), she began squirming and making noises. Panicking, you picked her back up, the noises and squirming instantly stopped and you sighed heavily.

“Morgan,” you paused, making a bit of a face at her, “We're not playing this game tonight.”

Morgan only continued to sleep.

Giving her another five minutes, you bounced and patted her into a deeper sleep and once you believed she was down for the count, you gently placed her back into her bassinet.

Queue the louder noises and more prominent squirming.

“...”

This was going to be a long night.

***

You woke up with a start, your phone vibrating loudly and next to your ear. Grabbing your phone, you looked at the time.

7:36am.

You groaned loudly.

Putting your phone down, you attempted to maybe put in 20 more minutes of rest or at least, you hoped so. Morgan kept you up until almost 4am with her little game, but you finally got the last win after another bottle, burping her and she was once again in that food coma.

Though, it seemed like you weren't going to get that extra few minutes of sleep because your door bell rung loudly throughout the apartment. Practically falling off your bed, you were surprised that the infant was still sleeping through that. Yawning loudly, you turned to your mirror, frowning at how disheveled your hair was and you looked so much like a zombie.

The door bell went off once more, this time Morgan waking up to it and you could hear that noise she made before the water works began.

“No-no-no-no--” you hushed, getting up and picking up the infant. Holding onto her, you hurried to your door, unlocking it and almost swinging it open. Much to your dismay; Bucky, Natasha and Steve were standing there, Bucky in mid ring and 3 sets of eyes staring at your form.

“Long night there, hun?” Bucky questioned, staring down at your dead form with his brow raised.

You only gave him dead eyes.

“I am functioning on less than 3 hours of sleep.”

It wasn't a second later that Steve and Natasha shuffled past Bucky, the two rather concerned for your lack of sleep. Natasha scoped Morgan from your arms and Steve held onto your shoulders, guiding you to your couch.

“We actually did try to call you earlier,” Natasha spoke up, bouncing the gurgling baby in her arms, “You weren't answering so Steve wanted to check to see if you were okay.”

“It wasn't just me--”

“I was told breakfast was going to be accommodated,” Bucky interjected, only for Natasha to give him a look, “But brunch works too~”

“Y-yeah, that's fine,” you waved a hand dismissively, trying real hard to keep yourself awake, “Just... Feed... Baby... Bottle...”

“Feed baby bottle?” Bucky repeated.

“Alright, (Y/N),” Steve spoke up as he went up to you, tucking one arm under your legs and using the other to hold onto your back, “You're going to take a nap before we do anything.”

Not bothering on protesting, you just accepted your fate, letting Steve pick you up bridal style once more and carrying you off to your room.

Gently placing you on your unmade bed, you looked up at the blonde behind your heavy lidded eyes. Steve merely brushed some hair from your face, covering your body with your blanket.

“Get some sleep, sweetheart,” he whispered.

“Yes, sir...” was all you muttered, finding yourself in dreamland not even a second later.

“Is (Y/N) asleep?” Natasha asked from the kitchen. Morgan had migrated to Bucky's arms this time as Nat was currently warming up a bottle. Steve nodded as he closed the door and made his way back to the living area, only to plop on the couch and glanced at Morgan, a small smile one his lips.

“Okay, Morgan, lets go to Daddy,” Bucky spoke, handing the tiny child to the blond and making his way over to the kitchen.

“I don't think I'm going to get used to that for awhile,” Steve muttered, easily taking the infant in his arms and cradling her. Two chocolate brown eyes stared up at his baby blues, blinking a few times, “You were giving your Mama a hard time, weren't you?”

Morgan blinked once more, her tiny fingers brushing against his own.

***

It was around 11am when you got up again. It was a little too quiet for your liking. Bringing yourself up, you slid out of bed, making your way out of your bedroom and opening the door. Your TV was on, though on the lowest volume and you heard someone humming. Quietly shuffling toward the main room, you saw Steve on the couch, looking down at the floor and by the looks of it, Morgan was in her bouncer, the tiny infant now sleeping.

“Morning,” you heard the soft baritone voice coming from Steve, his attention turning to you when you came from behind, “You feeling any better?”

“Yeah,” you whispered, your eyes going from him and down at Morgan, “I was so upset with her last night, but I can't find myself to be mad anymore...~”

Steve merely chuckled.

“Where's Nat and Bucky?” you offhandedly questioned, realizing there were two other people missing.

“Went to go grab some food,” Steve answered, “We weren't sure how long you were going to nap, so they just offered to go grab something and bring it back before we get started on your stuff.”

“I'm sorry...” you muttered, now feeling a little bad.

“Don't worry about it, (Y/N),” Steve reassured, giving you a smile, “You and her had a long night, she's probably not used to this environment.”

You nodded. Now that you thought about it, Morgan was probably sensing some major changes and despite her seeing you often, she was no longer sensing her actual parents around. You remembered that Pepper once said that babies can sense changes in their surroundings, which was why Morgan often cried whenever she was with the babysitter the first few times.

“We all aren't...” you added, coming around from the back of the couch and sitting next to Steve. There was a pretty good gap between the two of you and you didn't want to feel like you were in his personal space, “Hey, Steve?”

“Yes?” he asked, turning his attention back from the TV to you.

“Uhm...” you paused for a second,trying to find your words again, “I know this is weird... Well, to be honest, this whole thing is weird.”

There was a long awkward silence, your gaze unable to met Steve's, so instead, you stared down at Morgan's sleeping form.

“The circumstances are strange, yes,” you heard him say, “But I think we can do it, the co-parenting thing at least.”

“You think so?” you questioned, mainly toward yourself. Honestly, it's barely been two days but you were afraid. You were used to being alone, nothing to take care of besides yourself. And out of some weird circumstance, here you were... Pretty much a mother and co-parenting with a stranger? Well, kind of a stranger.

“I think so,” Steve reassured. You could feel his eyes on you and you couldn't help but follow it, both of you meeting gazes.

After a moment, you nodded gently.

About twenty or so minutes later Natasha and Bucky busted in with food at hand. Luckily, Morgan was already awake, bundled up in your arms with Steve sitting on the armrest next to you as you quietly fed her. Natasha made no effort to hide her smirk on her lips, making an all knowing comment about how very _domestic_ and _adorable_ you and Steve looked together with Morgan. You merely rolled your eyes while Steve laughed and shook his head, getting up to help with the food. While you were feeding, eating and making phone calls, Steve and Bucky transferred some of your smaller furniture to his truck along with some clothes and needed necessities; Natasha taking over with the feeding or baby watching when you needed to get up for one reason or another.

“Truck's ready!” Bucky called out as he poked his head from your doorway.

“Okay!” you answered, securing Morgan in her car seat and grabbing her baby bag. You decided to use her bag as your purse, seeing as it would have been easier to hold one bag in general. Pepper had done the same thing before, which caused you to pause for a moment. You took a deep breath, letting the pang in your chest subside as you thought about your best friend. You had no idea how long this was going to last, or at least until you were going to be able to think about her and Tony without wanting to cry, but you merely shook your head, wiping your eyes and picking up the car seat from your bed.

 _You got this..._ You told yourself as you exited the room.

“You got everything for now, (Y/N)?”

Looking up from your door, you saw Steve standing there, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. You couldn't help but notice at how very _defined_ his arms were and had to stop yourself from blatantly gawking. And at the mere thought, you could instantly feel the blush coming to your face as you awkwardly looked away.

“Y-yes,” you managed to say as you locked your apartment and shuffled past him with Morgan in tow.

Luckily for you, you had just missed the small quirk on Steve's lips as he waited for you to go first before he straightened himself and followed right after.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 3 my friends! I hope you're enjoying the story so far~ Hopefully I can continue with this momentum on rolling out the chapters, but we'll see~ Thank you to everyone who has sent in the kudos and please continue enjoying the story!

The ride to your new home was pretty uneventful. Bucky decided to ride with you, complaining about not having much Morgan time today and of course, you didn't protest, wanting some company in the car ride. You had a few things in your own trunk, well mainly the smaller things. You were going to have some movers come in to get the rest of your stuff sometime during the week.

“You know, (Y/N)~” Bucky practically sang, gushing over Morgan from the back seat. While you drove, Bucky threw himself in the back, moving some of your stuff in the front so he could sit with the baby in the back, “If you ever need a babysitter for anything, I'm more than happy to volunteer my off time.”

“Would you even have the time?” you questioned with a laugh. Bucky and Steve worked at the same place, both men being long time friends even before they both joined the army when they were fresh from high school. But after serving their four years, they had went their separate ways, only to find themselves in the same station. Unlike Steve, Bucky was an EMT.

“I will make the time,” the brunette laughed before going back to making faces to Morgan, who seemed to be awake.

Soon enough, you pulled up to the all too familiar driveway, Steve pulling up not a second later next to your car; you continued to sit, your hands gripping on the steering wheel. This felt a little more bittersweet than usual. For a second, you were expecting to see Pepper come around from the front door, but once again, you had to tell yourself otherwise.

You saw Sam's car parked on the street, signaling that he was here with Thor. Since the accident happened, Sam had been Thor's caretaker until you and Steve were able to move into the house. He didn't want to leave the poor dog alone and if you lease had allowed you to, you would have taken him as well.

“Alright, Momo-love, we're home~” you turned to the baby, smiling her way. Bucky had long left the car, hurrying to go help Steve with some boxes.

“I got Morgan, can you open the door?” Natasha asked as she appeared from the back of your car.

You nodded in response, taking your keys out and grabbing whatever you could from the front before making your way to the house.

“Thor!” you laughed as the giant Great Pyrenees came running up, almost knocking you down. Sam came around from the arch entrance way, looking a little out of breath but dressed as if he had just came from running.

“Welcome home, guys,” he greeted breathlessly, “Lord, this snowball is going to be the death of me.”

“Hey Sam,” Steve greeted, as he appeared from behind you, a giant box in his arms, only to drop it when the big ball of fluff started to jump on him, “Nice to see you too, big guy!”

Bucky walked in with a box in his arms as well, with Natasha following right behind with Morgan. Instantly, Thor was already all over Bucky, who greeted him with equal enthusiasm, giving the dog all the pets and belly rubs in the world. This gave Natasha the chance to slide past the two, and placing Morgan down.

“Gentle,” Steve's stern but gentle voice told the dog, who had left Bucky and went to go sniff Morgan's car seat. Thor instantly started to whine, recognizing the scent and plopping on the floor, next to the car seat.

“Awww, Thor,” you cooed, petting his head, “You missed her, didn't you~?”

Another whine was his response, his big puppy eyes staring up at you. Again, you couldn't help but coo, giving Thor some extra pats on the head as Sam went to go help with bringing things in.

Once everything was brought in, Natasha, Sam and Bucky stayed for another hour or so, the five of you chatting and drinking idly as you were holding Morgan. Soon enough, the three of them left, Sam giving you and Steve some final paperwork before he left.

“Call us if you two need anything,” Natasha spoke from the door. You and Steve stood at the doorway, bidding your friends goodbye.

“Yeah, of course,” you smiled, “Thanks for your help!”

And at that, they were gone.

Now it was just you, Steve, Morgan and of course, Thor.

You _and_ Steve...

“So...” you muttered after a moment and turning toward Steve. Ever since moving out from your parent's house, you were used to having another person around. Yeah, sometimes you had some girl friends sleep over.

But this was Steve.

Steve's a guy--

“I know this must be awkward,” Steve started off, feeling the thick air between the both of you, “I'm going to admit, this feels weird for me too.”

“Y-yeah...” you muttered, absentmindedly bouncing Morgan in your arms, “We should assign rooms.”

“You can take the master.”

You blinked.

“W-wait—Are you sure?”

“I'll be in and out a lot,” Steve reassured, “Don't worry about, you'll make better use of the walk-in closet than I would.”

You couldn't help but laugh lightly, but nodded in agreement.

***

While moving things around, you had found a baby swing, having Steve set it up and you placed Morgan on it. Thor went straight into nanny mode, sitting with her while you and Steve were moving things around, putting your things away and getting settled.

It still felt a little weird that you were now living in your best friend's house, but you were beginning to come into terms with it. And as much as you wanted to leave the family pictures up as well as old photos of Tony and Pepper, it just felt a little weird. However, you did leave a few up, mainly the ones with Morgan in them. You knew it was going to be strange, but you never wanted to keep Morgan away from her parents, so at the very least, you left up some memories.

“Hey Steve,” you called out. It was starting to get late and you remembered that he had work in a little bit.

“Over here,” he replied, his voice coming from the guest room, which he decided to take as his room. You hurried over, Thor following right after you.

“I just wanted to know if you wanted to e--” you abruptly stopped, almost dropping the baby monitor you had set up and already feeling the blush on your cheeks.

Mr. Baby Blues was facing the door, whist putting on a clean gray shirt and you caught a glimpse of his _well developed_... Abs. Even if it lasted for about two seconds, that was a show you knew you were going to have burned in your head for as long as you lived.

_Oh my God, get a grip, (Y/N)! What are you? In high school again?_

“Hm, what's up?” he questioned, his shirt now on and he looked at you.

_You're going to kill me one of these days, Rogers..._

“Did you say something, (Y/N)?”

“Y-yes!” you almost squeaked, but then cleared your throat, “I just... Wanted to know if you wanted to eat something before you head off to work tonight...?”

Picking up his cellphone that was currently charging on his night stand, he quickly glanced at the time only to shrug.

“I have some time before I have to head out,” he said after a moment.

You nodded quickly, shuffling away with Thor once again, following you out. Once again, you missed the smile on Steve's lips before he shook his head and finished getting ready for his night at the station.

It didn't take you long to whip something quick with whatever ingredients you found in the fridge. Surprisingly enough, you were able to make a meat and vegetable stir fry with noodles, somewhat chuckling when you remembered how much Tony loved Asian cuisine. Not long after you plated a bowl for yourself and your _unbelievably attractive_ roommate, Mr. Baby Blues himself appeared with his duffel bag on his shoulder. He made a bee line for the table, sitting down and looking at the food.

“Wow, this looks really good,” he couldn't help but say before taking his fork and happily digging in.

“Thanks, help yourself for seconds if you want,” you laughed, taking a bite.

Despite what happened earlier, you and Steve managed some small talk. You had mentioned that you worked mainly at home, being a virtual assistant for a few marketing companies, which is why you spent a lot of time at home and as a side gig, you owned and ran a small Itsy store.

“Well, that explains why you have three monitors instead of the standard one?” Steve joked.

You giggled and stuck out your tongue, “I have to multitask a lot and using just one monitor isn't going to cut it.”

The conversation continued for just a little while longer and what ever awkward tension was left, it had finally dissipated. Though, it felt a little too short for you liking, but Steve did have to go to work and he would be gone for the rest of the night. You got up from your seat, gathering your dishes as Steve was doing the same.

“Oh, don't worry about it,” you insisted, going over to his side of the table and started to gather up his dishes, “You have to leave, I'll take care of this.”

“Thanks, (Y/N),” Steve spoke, suddenly leaning down and gently kissed your cheek. You couldn't help but make a noise as Steve grabbed his bag and made his way toward the front door. Though, he stopped at the entrance way that separated the kitchen/dining area from the living room, before turning to look back at you, “Don't let Morgan bully you tonight. The food was delicious, by the way and I'll see you tomorrow afternoon.”

You were still holding onto his bowl as you silently nodded, not even bothering to move from your spot. At this, Steve couldn't help but laugh before he winked and actually left this time.

Once you heard the door close, you finally let out the breath you didn't realize you were holding. The blush now coming on full force and you mentally cursed yourself. This was ridiculous, actually you were being ridiculous. You were currently acting like some sort of hormone driven teenager once more and you honestly thought that was way passed you.

“I'm a grown ass adult, I buy my own vegetables and now co-parenting an infant...” you attempted to reason with yourself out loud, “With probably the most delicious man on this planet—Oh my God, stop (Y/N)!”

You weren't sure if Morgan had sense your inner turmoil, but you were thanking her multiple times when the baby monitor started going off and you heard her crying.

At least for now, Steve Rogers was going to be on the very back of your mind...

Well, sorta.

***

“Hey Cap!” Bucky practically hollered when he saw his best friend enter the station. At the moment, Bucky and a few others were going through a routine assessment with the equipment, making sure everything was in good working order.

Steve waved from his post at the entrance, watching the guys work for a moment before he turned and headed over to the locker rooms. Opening his locker, he sighed heavily, staring at the picture of his ex-wife that he had yet to take down, her beautiful smile still haunting his dreams at night. To think it had been a few months since the divorce was finalized, but almost a year since the actual separation. It still felt a little surreal that his five year relationship with Peggy felt apart so easily, but despite the multiple attempts to mend their marriage, she still wanted the divorce and Steve wasn't going to argue anymore.

“Good evening, Captain Rogers,” a voice from behind greeted. Steve turned around, having to take a second to reorganize his thoughts before he nodded in greeting to the owner of the voice.

Peter Parker was their newest and currently the youngest recruit. The boy was somewhat fresh from high school, and a part timer, as he was currently going to college as a biology and chemistry major.

“Hey Parker,” Steve greeted, finally putting his bag away and shutting the locker close, “You ready for your first all nighter?”

“Well, if it's as bad as me pulling an all nighter for my papers, then I'll be as ready as ever,” Peter laughed as he walked out of the locker room.

“Steve, we're ordering out some Chinese, did you want anything?” Hal called out from the back office when he saw the blond walk out of the locker room.

“I ate before I came in, appreciate though, Hal,” Steve answered instantly, going straight over to his desk. He couldn't help but think about the good food you made as well as his sudden flirtatious attitude. Honestly, he had no idea what came over him when he did that, but you really did look like a little housewife when you were cleaning up dinner.

It was kind of cute.

“So, how was day one with the baby and the Mrs.~?” Steve could hear the smirk on Bucky's face, even without looking directly at him.

“It was fine,” Steve answered, not even bothering to humor his best friend's _extra_ comment, “Morgan's actually a very laid back baby and (Y/N)'s a pretty good cook.”

“Oh?” Bucky's interest piqued, “Yeah, (Y/N) loves to bake too, you should get her to make her cinnamon apple cobbler again. It's the same one I brought in a few weeks ago.”

“(Y/N) made that?” Steve questioned as he booted up his computer tower. He remembered that Bucky did bring in a treat that he reluctantly shared with everyone who came in that day, but he didn't realize that it was made by you.

“Cha'” Bucky snorted, now half leaning and half sitting on the side of the desk, “Honestly, I have to rate it as high as your mom's apple pie.”

Laughing and shaking his head, Steve felt his phone vibrate, seeing your name on the screen as you had sent him a text with an attachment on it. Pressing the home button, he went straight for the message and a huge picture of Morgan was on it, a bottle in her mouth and if he squinted, he swore he saw a bit of a smile?

**Steve, look! She's smiling!**

“Oh God, you two are already sending each other baby picture texts?” Bucky pretended to gag, looking down at the said text, “That's disgusting.”

Rolling his eyes, Steve mere shoved Bucky off of his desk, who only laughed loudly, before saving the picture to his phone.

"Send that my way when you get the chance though!" the brunette called out as he walked out of the office, still laughing, "I need more of my baby Morgan pictures in my life~"


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're here with chapter 4~ Lol. Hope you guys continue to enjoy the story. I need this momentum to keep going and actually finish something in my life. I had to fix my tags now that I have more things going on. The story's not finished, I still have some stuff planned, so sit back and enjoy the next chapter!

The next couple few weeks flew by, your new life becoming a routine at this point. You ended your emergency leave with your clients, now returning to work once more and making most of the money back that you had to fork up to break your apartment lease early. Your relationship with Steve didn't seem to change that much, you two becoming quite the pair of friends. You still got a little flustered every so often, especially when Steve had walked around the house shirtless sometimes when he was home. But other than that (and the times you swore he was flirting with you), this new change in your life wasn't that bad.

Despite the TV running on some kid's show, you were absentmindedly bouncing Morgan on her baby bouncer, a book on hand as you skimmed through it. It had been one of those baby books that Tony panicked bought when he found out about Pepper's pregnancy, but the books ended up being useless paper weights or decoration for the coffee table. You had eyed them a few times during your visits when you saw your friends, but never actually bothered to pick it up. This time around, you decided to see what was up with it.

“Well according to doctor so and so, you can actually start eating baby food at around four months,” you randomly spoke, looking down at Morgan who was busy staring at the little toys that were dangling and dancing above her. When you stopped bouncing her, the toys stopped moving and she automatically looked your way, her little eyes staring at you.

“You going to let me know what you want to try first?” you asked her.

She merely replied with a yawn.

Making a face, you then shook your head and chuckled before returning your attention to the baby book, you continued to read the section about _Getting Ready for Solids_ , finding some interesting tid-bits here and there.

Though, your attention went from the book to the door, hearing the jingling of keys and the door opening not a second later. Thor was the very first to come through the door, Steve coming in right afterwards. You watched as Thor pranced past you and Morgan, going straight to the kitchen where his water fountain was at and Steve hanging up the leash as well as his keys on the key holder that was next to the front door.

“Did you have a nice run?” you asked him, putting your book face down on the coffee table.

“Y-yeah,” he answered, breathlessly before plopping on the recliner, “I should have gotten myself a dog years ago, they make better running partners.”

You laughed, “Oh totally, I used to have a German Shepard growing up and my parents used to say that he would be the only reason why I took naps on time.”

“Interesting,” he nodded as he got back up, “I'm going to go hop in the shower real quick and we'll go head off for the needed groceries?”

As Steve went off to shower, you closed the book and placed it back neatly on the table, making look nice once more. Looking down at Morgan, who looked like she was ready to go to sleep, you picked up the infant, bringing her to her room to change her into more weather appropriate clothes. The weather was getting much cooler, signaling the colder seasons coming. And the very last thing you needed was a sick child.

Once done, you brought Morgan with you into your room, you placed her on your bed, building a bit of a fort so she didn't accidentally roll off or anything. Changing into a long sweater and some leggings, you walked past the bed, Morgan still asleep as you went over to your bathroom to put your hair up in a quick updo.

By the time you were done fixing yourself up, Steve was hanging by your door, watching as you picked up Morgan from her little pillow fort while humming lightly. He wasn't sure if it was the sunlight from the large window behind you or something, but there was a bit of a gentle glow around you, especially when you had Morgan in your arms. Though, he felt a little silly to be even staring in the first place, so he awkwardly coughed, causing you to instantly look his way.

“Oh,” you smiled, somewhat embarrassed, “I hope you weren't waiting long?”

“No,” he answered after a moment, “I'm ready when you are.”

“Here,” you spoke, gently handing the infant to him, “Can you put her in the truck while I get the diaper bag ready?”

Steve only nodded, taking the child from your arms and went to go do what you suggested.

It wasn't long until you followed him out, Morgan secured in the back middle seat of his truck as he started the large truck to get the heater running. The autumn air was a little more on the chilly side, not wanting the cold air to do harm to his daughter.

 _His_ daughter.

It had been a few weeks since he took up the mantle from Tony and it still felt a little surreal. Bucky kept calling you the “Mrs.”, despite the looks Steve kept giving him. Honestly, it felt a weird. Not necessarily bad, but there was this strange pang of guilt, especially since his divorce still felt a little on the fresher side. Not to say you were at fault. Pepper was right to chose you as Morgan's Godmother and the person to take over her mantle should anything happen to her, as sad as it was.

Steve didn't realize how deep he was in his thoughts, your presence abrupt when you jumped into the back to sit with Morgan.

“Sorry for taking a little long,” you apologized, placing the cream and latte colored baby bag on the other side of Morgan's car seat, “I had to clean out Thor's water.”

“You're fine,” he spoke, his blue eyes darting from the review mirror and the road as he started driving.

***

“Geez, I didn't realize it was going to be this windy,” you muttered, hugging your waist coat closer to yourself. Steve had grabbed a cart, gently putting Morgan's car seat on the child's seat, “Winter might be colder this year.”

“You not ready for it?” Steve jokingly asked, as he opened the flap from the seat cover to check on the infant. Morgan was once again sleeping, as per usual.

“You kidding me?” you laughed, already making your way to the produce section with Steve following right behind, “I prefer the colder weather over the warmer one.”

“Why so?” he questioned, eyeing you as you looked through the vegetables.

You merely gave him a playful smile as you dropped some romaine lettuce in the cart, “It's perfect cuddle weather~”

As you turned away and shuffled over to grab some much deserved fruit, you missed the small smirk on your attractive roommate's lips.

The two of you went your separate ways for a short while, Steve wandering off to grab some stuff he needed. Though, you had asked him to go grab a box of size 1 diapers as well as a few packages of the cucumber scented baby wipes. You were very specific about which brand and the color of the wipes that were needed, some store brand diapers and wipes were pretty good and on the cheaper side. And since he was heading in that general direction (and one hardly to say no to a lady), he agreed and left.

With a box of the said diapers on hand, Steve meandered down the aisle, looking for the specific pack of wipes you had asked him to get. And rather engrossed with it, he didn't see a rather attractive woman come up from the other side of the aisle, easily recognizing him.

“Oh my God, is that you, Steve?”

Startled, Steve instantly looked for the owner of that voice, finding it a little familiar. That's when he saw her.

“Sharon...” his smile was stiff.

Sharon Carter was Peggy's rather eccentric cousin; she was pretty, he wasn't going to deny that, those genes ran rather heavily when it came to the female Carters, but she was a bit of a forced wedge between him and Peggy back when they were together. She openly admitted to having a crush on him, despite the fact that he was heavily loyal to Peggy, but it seemed like that didn't bother her the least bit.

“It's been so long, how are you~?” she asked, hurrying over to him and was instantly on his arm, “Also, I'm so sorry about what happened between you and Peggy...”

“T-thanks,” he muttered, some annoyance building up. He wasn't much of a big fan of her, and neither was Peggy, especially when she had announced the said crush in front of her cousin, “Hey, Sharon.”

“Yes, Steve?” she smiled, a little too happy and clutching onto his arm a little too tightly.

“Look, I--”

“Steve, _honey_ , did you get the _baby_ wipes like I asked you to?” your voice appearing was like heaven in his ears. You were walking up with the cart and Morgan, an all knowing smile on your lips, “Oh, I didn't realize you were with someone, _sweetheart_.”

“Sorry, _doll_ , I ran into an old acquaintance,” Steve answered, mouthing a _thank you_ when he finally saw you.

Sharon seemed a little confused at first, but it wasn't a second later that she saw the car seat and then the box of diapers in Steve's hands. The blond instantly frowned, her attention darting from the diapers, to you and then finally to Steve.

“Well, don't you work a little fast...” she muttered, not bothering to hide the slight bitterness in her voice.

“As I was saying, _Sharon_ ,” Steve emphasized, managing to away from her death grip from his arm, “I'm a little busy at the moment, maybe we can catch up next time?”

“Yeah, sure...” she forced a smile, before eyeing you. You only continued to give her an innocent smile, her attention returning to Steve once more, “It was nice seeing you again, Steve. Don't be a stranger...~”

Once she was out of ear range, Steve finally let out a breath, his attention going back to you.

“Sorry about that, (Y/N),” he apologized after a moment, “I didn't think she was in town.”

“ _Who_ exactly was that?” you questioned, your eyes on him as he gently placed his stuff in the cart and the diapers on the underside of the cart.

“My ex's cousin,” he answered as he straighten himself up, “Part of me wants to say that she's one of the reasons why we separated, but I doubt that's the case. She was a bit of a thorn on both of our sides, though.”

“Oh...” was all you said. It was extremely rare when Steve had brought up anything regarding his past relationship and you also didn't want to seem like you were prying, “Did you get the baby wipes though, _sweetheart_ ~?”

“They're right here, _doll_ ,” Steve chuckled, finally able to find them.

***

Your phone flashed 3am when the baby monitor went off. Morgan's cries rather prominent this time around. And as tired as you were, you were starting to somehow get used to getting up in the early morning to tend to your daughter.

After the incident at the grocery store, the rest of the shopping experience went by rather smoothly. You ended up seeing Sharon one more time when you were picking up some dog food for Thor, the blond merely giving you a stiff smile when you two shared eye contact. Steve was busy getting the large bag from the bottom shelf, unable to see your fleeting moment with Sharon.

You also chose not to say anything, figuring it wasn't worth it.

As for the rest of the day, you two went about your day. Steve relaxing after the both of you put away the groceries and you began preparing dinner for the both of you.

The day ended with one last episode of your current Korean drama binge, somehow roping Steve in despite him pretending to be busy on his Apple tablet. You got Morgan ready for bed, finishing up your routine for the night.

You slowly made your way over to kitchen to get a bottle ready, you noticed the light already on, some gentle humming coming from it. Thor was plopped in the middle of the entrance way between the kitchen and dining room, his tail flopping lazily from left to right. Coming closer, Thor looked up, his giant dark eyes staring at you with his mouth open, tongue dangling from the side. You smiled at the giant snowball, giving him a small pat when you peeked around the open entrance.

Steve was leaning against the island counter, Morgan in his arms and bottle feeding her. He was humming the familiar soft tune of the show you were watching. You couldn't help but giggle lightly. At the sound of your giggle, Steve peeked over his shoulder, his baby blues catching yours and a small quirk of a smile on his lips.

“I got her this time, you can go back to bed,” he spoke softly, his voice deep, lulling Morgan to sleep with her warm bottle. Instead of doing so, you decided to go over anyway, standing in front of Steve and stared down at little Morgan, who had her eyes closed, but sucking on the nipple of her bottle loudly.

“Kinda hard to with a noisy eater here,” you joked softly. You heard Steve's deep chuckle, causing you to almost shiver, but you continued to watch her. Bringing your hand up, you wiped away some of the formula that dripped out of her mouth before lightly guiding your fingers up her smooth cheek and then smoothing out her light brown hair.

“She's almost done anyway,” Steve spoke up, tilting the bottle up, Morgan finishing the very last of it within a few minutes. You merely took the bottle from his hands, making your way over to the sink and quickly rinsing it out as Steve burped her. The loud burp almost startled you, making you turn around and you noticed the white trail of regurgitated formula on Steve's shoulder.

“Oh, she must really like you,” you laughed as Steve sighed at the spit up.

“Great,” he couldn't help but smile anyway.

Grabbing a rag from the sink counter, you placed on you shoulder, you then took the infant from the man, gently patting her back as you walked back to her room. Steve followed right behind you, turning off the light on your way out. After you were sure she was asleep, you gently placed her on her back in her crib, giving her a few minutes before she was dead asleep. Slowly, you crept away from the crib, making sure the baby monitor was still on and making your way out of the room.

After closing the door gently, you left it cracked open, not wanting to close it completely before turning around. You gasped, your hands pressed up against Steve's naked chest. You felt his muscles tense under your touch, warmth radiating from his skin. The both of you stood like this for a few seconds, neither one making any effort to say anything. Thank the heavens that it was dark or else you were sure Steve could see the ginormous blush on your cheeks.

“S-sorry,” you whispered, attempting to hide the crack of your voice.

“N-no... My apologies,” his voice still deep and...

“G-good night, Steve,” you managed to say as you ducked under him and shuffled into your room, whist closing the door.

Steve stood there for a good minute, his hand pressed against the cool wall. He had absolutely no idea what just happened, but he could still feel your touch against his skin, it was warm and so comforting. It was a strange feeling, something that he really hadn't felt before, even with all the times he was with Peggy.

“Well, _fuck_ ,” he cursed under his breath, now debating if he should take a cold shower or not.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Onward with chapter 5~ I actually meant to post this earlier, but something came up and I almost forgot to finish it. Whoops~ Enjoy!

It was another one of those nights where Steve had overnight duty at the station. Although some nights had passed since your encounter, neither one of you seemed to go about on it. As much as it was eating you from the inside, Steve seemed to be acting as if everything was fine and dandy.

Little did you know, that was _not_ the actual case.

Your friends had dragged you out for some early morning breakfast and to be honest, you were rather thankful. As much as you enjoyed the solitude of your home, you were glad that your best friends still dragged you out for some much needed fresh air.

“So, how's everything been going?” Hope asked, absentmindedly stirring her coffee. You, Hope, Natasha and Wanda were currently sitting at a breakfast cafe, enjoying some coffee and breakfast. Wanda was currently sitting next to you, playing with Morgan in her arms and making silly faces, while Natasha and Hope were sitting on the other side of the table, facing you at Wanda.

“Alright,” was all you said, before taking a sip of your own coffee. You were itching to bring up something and the narrowed look on Natasha's eyes told you she suspected the same thing.

“Okay, real talk,” the red head spoke up, pushing her coffee aside and leaned toward you, “You might as well spill it and don't lie.”

“What do you guys think of Steve?” you blurted out of nowhere. Wanda stopped making silly faces at Morgan and turned to look at you, Natasha had an all knowing smirk and you could also see a rather cheeky smile coming from Hope, who just attempted to hide it behind her coffee cup, but that was a fail, “Guys, for real.”

“I'm going to be 100% honest with you, (Y/N), he's pretty hot,” Nat admitted as she folded her hands on the table, that smirk still on her lips as she eyed you.

“If I wasn't already engaged to a mostly perfect guy right now, I'd be climbing Steve like he climbs a ladder during a house fire,” Hope was next and both Natasha and Wanda busted out laughing.

“Hope, stop!” you couldn't help but bust out laughing yourself. Hope merely grinned, chuckling at herself as she took another sip of coffee.

“What about you Wanda?” Natasha questioned, smiling smugly. You and Hope both looked at her, which caused the long haired red head to blush lightly.

“W-well I...” she paused, before glancing at your direction. You sighed.

“Nat, stop--”

“No, I want to know,” the shorter haired red head insisted, “I mean, Hope had her say and between the four of us, is the one who is practically married.”

“She isn't wrong,” the brunette muttered still sipping on her coffee.

“Yes, he's very attractive,” Wanda suddenly interjected, bringing Morgan closer to her, “I mean honestly, (Y/N), that man just screams dominance and I'm surprised you haven't jumped his pants yet.”

“Wanda, really?” you sighed again, exasperated, “And here I thought, you were on my side.”

“Sorry, (Y/N),” she apologized, smiling meekly your way.

You pouted.

“Well, you two have been living together for awhile,” Natasha continued before taking a sip of her own coffee, “Playing house~”

“It's not playing house!” you huffed, now stuffing some waffle in your mouth out of frustration, “I'm legitimately taking care of a child and co-parenting with a freshly divorced man who is more than likely emotionally unavailable...”

The girls merely went quiet, the only noise around were other patrons who were eating at the cafe as well.

“You like him, don't you?” Hope questioned, breaking the silence as she reached over and placed a hand on top of yours, “Be honest with yourself, (Y/N) and don't feel bad about it either.”

You were quiet for a moment, slowly chewing on another piece of your waffle. You sat there, thinking about it. Steve was a catch, that was a straight given; he was sweet, patient, funny, gentlemanly... Not to mention how he was just naturally a very good father figure and parent. What was there to _not_ like?

“And you know we were just teasing you,” Natasha added, placing her own hand on top of the one Hope was holding onto, “Mainly me but you know how horrible of a person I am.”

“Is that why you're going to continue to play hard-to-get with Bucky?” you asked after giving yourself a moment.

Now it was Natasha's turn to frown, causing Wanda and Hope to laugh.

***

When Steve made it home, you were still gone. The house felt a little too lonely and quiet, the blond half expecting to hear you going about and around. Though, Thor had suddenly appeared from the doggy door, a small whine and happy tail wag as he went up to his master. Steve merely smiled, patting the giant snowball of fluff.

Well, this gave him some time to think of a way to approach you with a little invitation...

Earlier, Steve was going through a few things, the guys absentmindedly going about with whatever they were suppose to be doing to keep themselves busy. Or so he thought so. He was currently looking up a document when Bucky appeared out of nowhere, well it appeared that the brunette literally materialized out of nowhere.

“So~” Bucky smiled, bringing up a chair and sitting on the other side of his desk, “You still planning on going stag this year for the Christmas party?”

“Don't you have a report you should be doing?” Steve asked, a blond brow rising, though he had a hard time keeping a straight face.

“Why yes, Captain Rogers,” Buck mocked, “But as you know Captain Rogers, it's almost done.”

“Then why don't you go finish it?”

“Because it's boring and I felt like pestering you.”

“ _Barnes_ ,” Steve's tone instantly went stern.

“I was thinking of asking (Y/N) to be my date this year,” Bucky randomly announced, ignoring his best friend's military mode as he endearingly called it.

“What? Giving up on Nat now?”

Oh, now Bucky got him a little interested, which caused the EMT to smile.

“Well, it's the same song and dance with Natasha; I ask, she says no but she's there anyway,” Bucky sighed, rather dramatically, “Besides, I feel like changing things up and I think (Y/N) deserves a little fun night out, especially since she's been a good Mama Bear to my dear Morgan.”

Steve merely stared at him, “Bucky, if this is your weird way of trying to make me ask (Y/N), then--”

“Look, Rogers, if you're not going to ask her, I will,” Bucky deadpanned, “And I mean it.”

And so here he was, staring at the TV, which was once again, running a kid's show and Thor at his feet, chewing on a broken squeaky toy. Eventually he caved in, telling his best friend that he will, which caused the happy brunette to get up and willingly finish the report he said he would finish.

For the past few days, the night of the encounter continued to play in the back of his mind, somewhat preoccupying him but instead of making you feel uncomfortable or awkward again, he chose to not bring it up. But at the same time, there was a new sense of tension in the air and he could easily see it in your eyes. However neither one of you made any effort to bring it up.

The sound of the door broke Steve from his thoughts. Thor instantly getting up, happily prancing to it when he saw you appear with Morgan in her car seat. It had started to rain when you were driving home, only for it to rain harder once you pulled up into the driveway. Steve got up, hurrying over to your side, picking up the car seat from your hand as you shut the door.

“Oh, hi,” you greeted, your face a little wet and your hair sticking to your face, “You're home a little early.”

“Yeah, I was able to escape before they roped me into more desk work,” he answered, putting Morgan down and opening up the seat cover. Instantly, her eyes were on him, a silent yawn escaping from her lips, “I can tend to Morgan and you can go take a warm shower.”

“Thanks, Steve,” you smiled appreciatively, whist taking off your coat. Giving Thor a quick pat on the head, you hurried over to change out of your wet clothes and into a much needed warm shower.

By the time you got out, you found Steve sitting on the floor, his back against the couch. Thor was happily laying on his side and Morgan was laying on one of the floor toys, which was just a pink blanket, with three bars connecting to make a tent like frame and soft toys dangling from them.

“Feel better?” you heard Steve's voice when he heard you walk in and peeked over from his shoulder.

“A lot better,” you smiled and sat on the couch, on Steve's other side. Although Morgan's complete attention was on the dandling toys, you couldn't help but coo adoringly when she began mouthing on her tiny fists. She had been doing that a lot more lately and you couldn't help but find it cute, “Her hands must taste good, she's been doing that a lot now.”

“And pretty soon, she's going to be walking,” Steve added, chuckling as you made a face.

“And then going to school~”

“And then socializing.”

“And then having that first boyfriend--”

“If I let her.”

“Steve!” you laughed, shoving his shoulder. The blond couldn't help but laugh himself before turning to look at you. Biting on your bottom lip, you glanced down at him from your spot, the two of you silent for a moment.

“About the the other night...”

“Oh, right...” your face fell and you could feel the blood on your cheeks coming, “Look, Steve... I'm really sorry about that, I didn't mean to--”

“It's not your fault, (Y/N), I didn't mean to come up behind you like that--”

“...”

Well, this was going nowhere.

“Hold on, let me start over,” Steve sighed before moving himself so now he was completely facing you, Morgan still in arms reach, “What happened the other night, lets just accept that it happened and put it past us.”

“R-right...” you mumbled, a little confused where this was going, “Steve...?”

“There's uh... A huge formal Christmas party that the city throws every year for first responders,” Steve spoke as he bashfully placed his hand on his neck, “And I wanted to ask if you wanted to come as my date...?”

Now you definitely felt the blood rush to your face, a nervous smile appearing as you bit down on your lower lip.

“I mean you don't have to if you don't want to--” Steve took your silence almost as if you were still upset about that night.

“Should I call for a babysitter?”

The look on Steve's face was adorable.

***

You still had a little while before the Christmas party, but you were in a bit of a high. As in the weird girl got asked by her crush to prom kind of high. It felt a little ridiculous; however, it did help with whatever you and Steve had going on since that night. Steve was right, dwelling all about it was a little silly. You had to once again remind yourself that you were an adult and talking it out was what adults did.

You paused for a second, putting your work down before looking over beside you to find Morgan still laying there, on a blanket with her fingers in her mouth. She had just finished eating, was burped and looked to be extremely content with her life at the moment. Usually she would have been asleep by now, but here she was, wide awake, eating her hands and looking around with no care in the world. She was becoming more alert and inattentive as the days passed by, doing more things and keeping her attention on you, Steve when he was home and even Thor.

“Stop growing up so fast,” you cooed, reaching over and placing your hands on her tiny tummy. Even with her fingers in her mouth, her body bobbed as she turned her attention to you. You had to stop yourself from crying out as you watched her tiny mouth quirk, a huge smile on her lips.

This was a first, well, first full fledged smile.

It was Pepper's smile.

You were in tears while holding Morgan when Steve came home from his morning run with Thor, an immediate look of concern as he came up to you, with the said dog following, sensing your distraught.

“W-what—What's wrong?” Steve asked, already squatting in front of you. You kept Morgan against your chest and shoulder, hugging the child close.

“S-Steve, she--” you managed to splutter out through your tears.

“What's wrong with Morgan, (Y/N)?” Steve continued to question, now in official work mode.

“S-she... Smiled!” you squeaked, more tears running down your face, “Like Pepper smiled!”

At that moment, Steve's shoulders went laxed and a long sigh escaped from his lips. He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes as you continued to coddle the infant, so instead, he shook his head.

“Please don't scare me like that again,” he muttered as he got up to do whatever he was going to do.

“S-sorry...” you apologized quietly, your teary eyes following after him. The blond's hand merely touched your head gently, before he disappeared down the hall to go shower.

When Steve appeared in the living room, you had put Morgan down for a nap and you were quietly packing up the multiple orders you owed to a lot of customers. Your pre-order keychains and enamel pins finally arrived that very morning and you had a lot of orders to send out.

“I didn't realize you drew.”

Looking up from your work, you nodded quietly, watching as Steve pick up one of your keychains. It was one of your character ones from a show you were a pretty big fan of, finding yourself becoming a known figure in the fandom, because of your art.

“It's really cartoon-y, I know,” you muttered, a little embarrassed. You did mention about the side stuff you did, but a lot of your work was on your computer and Steve had yet to see any of it. You were also trying to save up for a brand new drawing tablet since your previous one had pretty much died on you.

“No, it's cute,” he smiled before handing the keychain back to you, “Uhm... Here, lemme...--”

Steve didn't finish his sentence before he turned around and headed to his room. Not a second later did he walk out, your eyes landing on something in his hands before he sat on the side of the coffee table, which you were working on. Just like you a moment ago, Steve looked a little bashful, now making a habit of placing his hand on the side of his neck as a sign of his embarrassment.

Biting your lower lip, you picked up the book and flipped the cover over. Instantly, your eyes widen at what you saw. Drawings. Realistic sketches of the world. Speechless, you flipped through a few more pages, finding some that you found familiar.

“These are absolutely gorgeous,” you spoke, still in awe, “The detail in every single one...”

“T-they're really nothing though...”

“Really, Steve?” you eyed the man, who you caught blushing a bit, “You can easily sell these and by the looks of the buildings, you can probably even become an architect.”

“That was actually the original plan,” Steve admitted, looking down at the coffee table, “But after my mother fell ill, I dropped out of school and went straight into the army to help pay for my mother's medical bills.”

“I'm... I'm sorry,” you apologized, putting the book down, “How's your mom doing nowadays?”

“She's doing better now,” he smiled almost distantly, “My parents live up in Brooklyn and I usually talk to them at least twice a week, maybe more if I have the time.”

And then something hit you.

“D-do they know about our situation?” you suddenly questioned, a surge of panic now in your voice. Despite the fact you had been living like this for a few months now, you had yet to tell your own family about it. Honestly, you had absolutely no idea how to even tell them. The last time they checked, there was no baby, house and live in man in your life. And now here you were—Baby, house and live in man in your life.

“Yes,” was all Steve said, but continued to explain it further once he saw the look on your face, “I called them the night we agreed to take in Morgan and help raise her together. To be honest, they seemed a little off put about it, considering my situation and now that I'm living with with you, but I showed them the picture you gave me of Morgan and my mom now expects to meet her _grandchild_ and you for Christmas.”

You suddenly wanted to crawl under a rock and rot there for the rest of time.


	6. Chapter 6

You had a humongous frown on your face.

“It's just for one night, (Y/N),” Steve reassured from behind you, one hand on either side of your shoulders, watching as Wanda, with Morgan in her car seat as well as a extremely packed up diaper bag, walked down the pathway that lead to the main sidewalk, her twin brother, Pietro waving from his car. As it was getting closer to the Christmas party, you had asked your friend if she was available to babysit for that night. Well, somehow Wanda roped you into letting Morgan stay with her over night, giving you and Steve some _alone_ time. The conversation you had with her and your other friends at the cafe came flooding back, the red head merely smiling as she _kindly_ reminded you of it.

“Steve, Morgan hasn't left my sight since we took her in,” you whispered, still watching Wanda as she secured the car seat in her brother's car. Even though both siblings had lived in separate places, Pietro still gave his sister rides here and there, the Maximoff girl relying on a electric scoot to get her from point A to point B, but since she was picking up an infant, she got her brother to drive them.

The blond merely squeezed your shoulder reassuringly, giving a small wave when Wanda got up and turned to the two of you. Grinning, she waved before hopping into the backseat, the siblings driving away with your daughter. Once the car was out of sight, you begrudgingly walked into the house, following Steve and closing the door. Already that motherly fret started to gnaw at you, but you decided to wave it off. Wanda was one of your best friends and you trusted her a lot, besides, this wasn't the first time woman had babysat Morgan.

It was still in the early afternoon when Wanda picked up the infant and about thirty or so minutes later, Bucky and Natasha arrived, the red head instantly grabbing you for a little girls only day until special night.

“Nope, no boys allowed!” was all she said before she whisked you away, leaving Bucky and Steve to only look at one other as the door closed.

The first stop was the nail salon, the both of you enjoying a few hours of pampering and getting your hands and feet done. You kept your toes a nude pink color as well as your hands; however, you decided to go with a black and nude pink theme, hoping to match a bit with your dress. Prior to this, you and your girl friends spent another girls day dress shopping for you and Natasha. It was another night that Steve had gone for over night duty, so you and the girls took this opportunity to do some dress shopping. You ended up getting this beautiful, black, spaghetti strapped, slim line dress, which had this comfortable train at the back. It practically hugged your body, down until it reached to the middle of your thighs before flowing out. The last time you wore something this formal was for your high school prom, so doing all this felt a little strange, but you liked it. Natasha decided on an black strapless long dress with a slit, so every time she walked, it would give off a little leg. Honestly, both dresses were gorgeous, fitting both of your personalities quite well, you weren't just as adventurous as Nat was.

Luckily, the guys were out when you and Natasha returned to your place. Both of you had just finished your hair appointments, you deciding to keep your hair mostly down, but turning the top half of your hair into a braided crown while Natasha had hers in a formal updo.

Make-up wise, a certain red head had a little too much fun. You almost couldn't recognize yourself in the mirror when you stared at your reflection.

“And my mother thought cosmetology school was a waste of time,” Nat practically beamed at her work as the both of you stared at the mirror, “If you don't get a little something tonight by a certain firefighter captain, I will beat him myself.”

“Nat, please!”

“I think the next ice age is going to happen way before you two are done,” Bucky called out from down the hall, causing Natasha to roll her eyes.

“Shut up, Barnes!” Natasha retorted before putting one some gold earrings, “Jesus, I feel sorry for the next girl he dates.”

You had to stop yourself from snorting.

The look on Steve's face instantly made you blush, causing you to shyly brush away a small curl from your cheek and gently bite down on a glossy lip. It took a lot of energy to stop yourself from swooning openly. The way Steve looked in a dress uniform had to be illegal; clean shaven, his beautiful blond locks combed onto the side. You instantly promised yourself that this was going to be the best night of your life.

“Hey, stranger,” you smiled lightly, hoping that the blush you were wearing was hiding the actual one you could feel.

“Hello to you too,” Steve greeted, glancing down at you.

“If you two are done oogling one another, our ride's here.”

“Wha--”

“Ignore him, he's still a little upset about earlier,” Steve interjected, shooting his best friend a look before offering his arm to you. A look of confusion appeared on your face, but you took Steve's arm, the four of you making it to the uber driver waiting outside.

The ride to the venue was pretty relaxed and fun. The four of you talking and laughing during the entirety of the way. And before you knew it, you were at the venue, which was held at one of the fanciest hotels in the city. You were practically in awe when you and Steve walked in, your arm around Steve's as he pretty much had to guide you to the ballroom.

“I can't believe I'm actually inside,” you giggled lightly, standing in line as they slowly brought people in, “I think the closest I've been here was just drive by... Geez, it's beautiful in here.”

“It really is beautiful,” Steve muttered, his eyes never leaving your form.

Eventually your party made it to the front, the four of you going to the tables where Steve's unit was assigned to. This is where you got to meet almost everyone; Peter Parker, Hal Jordan and Maria Hill, just to name a few. And much to your surprise, you also got to meet the Fire Chief, Phil Coulson as well as the Fire Marshal, Nick Fury.

“There's a lot of important people here,” you couldn't help but comment, sitting on your seat that Steve pulled out for you.

“It's one of the bigger Christmas parties,” Steve spoke, sitting on his own seat next to yours. You were currently sitting at a large round table, which fit eight guests per table. Luckily, Bucky and Natasha were assigned to your specific table, as well as Peter Parker, with his date and Maria Hill, as well as her date.

It really turned out to be a night to remember. Hilarious stories were told while you were eating, drinking some champagne and just having an all around good time. There were a few speeches given, mainly from the government officials as well as special rewards, a few raffles and some dancing. Somehow, you managed to rope Steve into a dance, it being a Christmas slow song.

Honestly, this Christmas party was a lot more fun than your senior prom.

You went to excuse yourself after you had your dance with Steve, hurrying over to the bathroom to use it as well as freshen up your make up. It took you a little while, considering that you had to fight with your dress, but you ended up stopping on your way back, your eyes catching sight of your date with an extremely familiar woman.

You had to have seen her only once, but even so, you instantly remembered.

Peggy Carter, Steve's ex-wife.

The two of them were chatting it up as if they were old friends and you couldn't help but notice just how painfully _perfect_ they looked together. You remembered the day Steve had saved you from you fall off the steeping stool and the second Peggy came through those doors, Steve's existence just flew to her. You didn't realize you were squeezing the star shaped pendant you were wearing, causing the points to dig into your skin. The physical pain from that slapped you out of your hard trance; opening your hand, you found deep indents, luckily nothing was bleeding but you were sure if you squeezed it any harder, those points were going to pierce through your skin.

Biting your lip, you turned away, walking toward a different direction and somehow finding your way toward the door to the outside. It was extremely cold out, the wind making the temperature a lot colder than it was suppose to be. Luckily, the building was shielding you from the wind, but just standing near it was making you cold. Bringing your hands up to your arms, you hugged yourself as you looked out the window. You had been in denial about it for a while now, telling yourself that Steve was just a genuinely nice person, and the way he was treating you was probably no different that the way he treated the other girls in your circle of friends. It also didn't help that you two were living together and taking care of a child.

It was just a little school girl crush, was what you kept telling yourself, but the pain in your chest was telling you otherwise.

You had feelings for Steve Rogers.

“Damnit...” you muttered to yourself as you took a breath, “What are you doing to yourself...?”

“Yes, what are you doing to yourself?”

Gasping loudly, you turned around, finding Bucky standing there, his head cocked to the side. Sighing loudly, you rolled your eyes before turning back to the window.

“What's up, Missy?” he asked, his tone a little lighter as he walked up to you, now standing at your side.

“N-nothing, I just needed some... Air,” you answered, frowning, “Where's Nat?”

“Bathroom, but she asked me to check up on you when she saw you walk turn heel instead of coming back to the table.”

“Oh...”

Silence.

“You saw Steve with Peggy, didn't you?”

You bit your lip, “Well, yeah, but...”

“If it makes you feel any better, we weren't expecting her to be here either,” he added, which caused you to look up at him, “I guess she had a date here, I dunno. I was a little surprised myself, but I didn't go out of my way to ask her.”

“It's fine, Bucky,” you sighed, before putting your hand on his arm, “That's their business and I'm not in any way a part of it.”

“Did you want any more champagne?”

You laughed, “I'm fine~ I'm just gonna hang out here for a few more minutes and tell Nat that I'm okay, I just needed some air.”

“You got five minutes,” Bucky warned, jokingly, “Don't be surprised if Nat ends up calling SWAT or something just to look for you.”

You laughed again as Bucky reached over and gave you a one armed hug. You easily returned it, the both of you turning, only to see Steve standing there, a little confused. You watched quietly as Bucky walked past the blond, giving him a squeeze on his shoulder before returning to the party. Once he was gone, you awkwardly gave Steve a small smile, turning back to the window with your arms crossed. Not even a few seconds later, you felt the weight of the his dress uniform coat on your shoulders, his cologne invading your senses.

“You alright?” he questioned and you nodded.

“Y-yeah,” you managed to say after a second, “I just needed air. It was beginning to feel a little cramped in the ballroom.”

“I don't blame you,” he mumbled, putting his hand on the side of his neck, “Though, I didn't see you come back from the bathroom but Nat told me she saw you walking this way.”

“I know, that's why Bucky was here.”

The two of you stayed quiet for another moment, you eyes gazing up at the starless night. You continued to think about your revelation, quietly accepting that yes, you had feelings for the man who was currently standing next to you. And you were going to be okay with that, even if he did not feel the same way.

So, for now, you were just going to keep this to yourself and let things stay the way they were.

“(Y/N)?” you heard Steve say, causing you to glance up at him, your eyes wide at how close you were to him. You swore you saw his blue eyes staring at your lips, but they were back to yours in a matter of seconds. You swallowed, unable to turn away and that's when you felt his fingers brush away a loosely curled lock of your hair away from your face, before his hand traveled down and cupping your warm cheek. And as if gravity was forcing you, the two of you were leaning toward one another--

And then there was a cough.

Faster than the speed of sound, Steve's hand dropped to his side and you threw in some distance between yourselves. You heard Bucky's laugh and found both him and Natasha standing there; Bucky looking away, hiding his smile into his fist while Natasha stood there, her smug of a smile on her red lips.

“I'm sorry, were you two in the middle of something?” she questioned condescendingly, not even bothering to hide her smirk.

As much as you wanted to die under a rock, you promised yourself that you were going to one day, wipe that smirk off her face.

 _One day_.

It was almost one in the morning when you and Steve finally made it home. You already took off your heels, your feet hurting like no one's business. It really was a fun night and you hoped to one day do it again. Steve helped you out of the car as you bid your two best friends a goodbye. With your heels hooked onto your two fingers, you waved, the two of you now making your way up the little concrete pathway to the front door. Steve opened the door, the house dark but Thor instantly at your side. You greeted the snowball, giving him a few minutes of non-stop petting before he calmed down and just happily followed the two of you around.

“That was a lot of fun,” you spoke up, the both of you standing in front of one another's respected bedroom, “I had a great time, thanks for inviting me, Steve.”

“I'm glad you came, (Y/N),” he smiled.

For a few seconds, the two of you continued to stand there, almost as if you were waiting for something to happen. However, the awkward silence was beginning to bug you, so with your hand behind your back, you were about to open the door, only to stop when Steve was in front of you.

“Damn, doll,” his voice was deep, eyes heavy, “I'm going to be honest and say that I'm trying so hard to not act upon whatever alcohol I have in my system.”

“I'm sorry,” you whispered, your voice light, “Would it make you feel better if I said that I'm consenting?”

The moan that came out of him almost made you melt, your insides stirring and you had to stop yourself from making any other noises.

“Tell me that again, when we're sober...” he muttered, bringing his hands up and cupping your face. Instantly, you found his lips upon yours, the kiss slow, sensual and hot. You dropped your heels, your arms snaking around his neck as you tilted your head, deepening the kiss more. At this point, Steve had you pinned to your door, unable to stop the small moan.

Before things were able to escalate any further, the firefighter pulled away, your foreheads touching, the both of you breathless and panting. The two of you stayed like this for a few more moments, Steve having to be the one to pull away completely, which caused you to look at him, your body already missing the warmth.

“G-good night,” you managed to breathe out, your face hot.

“Good night, (Y/N).”

Hurrying into your room, you quietly shut your door, hearing his door close as well. Leaning against the wood, you sighed heavily letting yourself smile like an idiot. For all you knew, this was just some alcoholic induced dream or something, you knew you were going to wake up back to reality, your carriage returning to being a simple pumpkin, but for tonight, you were just going to enjoy it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed chapter 6! Starting to get some progress~ Huehue. Anyhoo, I'm aware that I threw in Hal Jordan, who is DC, not Marvel, but when I was writing up the previous chapter, Green Lantern was playing in the background and who doesn't love a little Ryan Reynolds? xDD See you guys next time!


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning after the party, you surprisingly didn't sleep past 9am, which felt like a first in such a long time, especially on your vacation leave. Your clients had given you almost a month and a half of holiday leave as well as a Christmas bonus, which you happily accepted. Honestly, you were blessed to have such wonderful bosses.

When you walked out of your room, you found absolutely no one at the house; no Steve and most definitely no Thor, which meant Steve was out for a run. A part of you was kinda glad of it, it gave you some time to process what happened last night.

You and Steve kissed.

Well, Steve kissed you, but the fact you and Steve kissed was the thing that you had on your mind first thing this morning. You weren't sure what to take of it and what this meant between you and your extremely attractive roommate. Were you two now seeing each other? Was last night just an alcoholic mistake? You instantly frowned at the latter. You didn't want to think it was, you accepted your feelings, but what did Steve want?

You were so deep into your thoughts, you didn't hear your text tone going off.

Hurrying to your phone, which was charging, you saw Steve's name on your home screen.

“When did I put a heart next to it?” you questioned when you noticed the said emoji next to his name. Brushing it off for the time being, you opened the message.

**Morning, doll. Just wanted to know if you and Morgan wanted to grab lunch today?**

He called you doll and you started smiling like an idiot again.

**Yeah, sure thing. I'm going to be picking up Morgan in a little bit. <3**

Right after texting him, you switched over to your contacts, calling Wanda. It had rung a few times before you heard her pick up, speaking her native tongue before answering in English.

“Hey (Y/N),” she greets, laughing a little.

“Hey Wanda,” you smile on the other line, “I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be leaving in a few minutes to pick up Morgan.”

There's some silence and you heard her calling out to someone. Their conversation lasts for a few seconds before you hear Wanda grumbling.

“Would it be possible for Morgan to stay a little longer~?”

“What--”

“(Y/N), please?” she pleaded on the other line, “My mom randomly decided to visit since my dad's out of town and she's been enthralled with Morgan since she came over last night.”

You sighed.

“Alright, well, Steve and I are going out for lunch and we'll be picking up Morgan afterward.”

“Great!” you heard her giggle, “My mom should be gone by then and I'll have Morgan ready. Have fun on your date, (Y/N)!”

Hanging up, you stared at your phone for a moment. You were looking forward to getting your child back, but it seems that was going to have to wait. Going back to your text messages, Steve had texted back a thumbs up emoji while you were on the phone with Wanda.

**Change of plans...**

***

The two of you decided on a little cafe place near the inner most part of town. It was a relaxed place, you knowing the owners since you and your girl friends often came by to catch up and eat. Steve was new news for them, the owner's wife often making some implications, teasing the two of you and asking about Morgan.

You were finally able to sit down, finding a two person table, your coats hung behind one another's chair respectively. Despite the cold, it was sunny outside; the winter air looking a little on the warmer side. At the moment, you were staring out at the large window, your arm propped up along the smooth surface of the table, while you rested your chin against the palm of your hand. Feeling rather relaxed, you closed your eyes, enjoying the quiet lo-fi music, cozy atmosphere and the peaceful moment.

While you were practically basking under the sunlight, you were oblivious to the pair of baby blue eyes that gazed your way. Arms crossed in a relaxed pose, his back against the metal of his chair, he couldn't help but just admire you from where he sat. Last night had been playing repeatedly in his mind and he couldn't help but feel a little bad.

He just wished the alcohol wasn't a part of that picture.

After a few seconds, you opened your eyes, feeling a certain pair of baby blues looking at you. You blinked, your gaze meeting his, the both of you staying like this for a few frozen seconds. It was out of nowhere that Steve reached over, his fingers brushing a few loose strands of your hair away from your face, which caused you to blush.

“T-thanks~” you muttered, trying to hide your smile.

Just as Steve was about to say something, the owner appeared at your table, personally serving the two of you with your food and drinks. After a moment, the two of you were able to start up some small talk, which lead into another conversation.

“So, what made you want to move down here?” Steve questioned when you had mentioned about being from California.

You shrugged, “I guess I wanted to leave the state for awhile. I kinda felt stuck and Pepper recently moved down here at the time, so I dropped everything and here I am.”

As you continued with your life story, Steve quietly listened, asking questions, putting in his two cents when needed and all that good jazz. You even told him about the time you had to rush back home due to your grandmother's declining health. And because of this, you had to step down from being a bridesmaid and miss the wedding. Your grandmother was your rock growing up and when your parents had given you the call, you dropped everything and rushed to her side. It was around this time that Steve mentioned that he was at the wedding, but of course, he was still with Peggy at the time. Regardless though, there was that chance of meeting Steve even earlier in your life.

This made you remember about how your grandmother was a firm believer of fate.

“Everything happens for a reason, sweetheart,” was the last piece of her wisdom that she gave to you before passing peacefully in her sleep.

It took you a moment to realize that you were crying, Steve reaching over once more, his thumb brushing off a tear that fell down your cheek.

“O-oh,” you muttered, hurrying to wipe your eyes, “S-sorry...”

“You don't have to apologize for that, (Y/N),” he gave you a reassuring smile.

It felt like such a long time ago that you were able to just... Talk to someone.

Eventually, the two of you finished your food and Steve paying for your meals. You had offered to pay, but he declined.

“But--” you attempted to interject, but he easily stopped you.

“I asked you out for lunch, so I'm paying.”

As much as you wanted to argue, you decided against it.

Somehow, the two of you ended up taking a bit of a stroll around town. The area was practically decorated from head to toe in Christmas cheer and despite the cold, the sunny day was hard to pass up for some fresh air. You currently had your arm wrapped around Steve's, hands interlaced. It honestly felt nice. You barely remembered a time where you were able to do something like this. You were so used to being secluded from the world, only to come out when needing to, but just going on a simple stroll with someone...

“Hey, Steve.”

“Hm?” he hummed, the two of you stopped in front of his truck. The two of you ended up just walking a few blocks down, only to round about back to the cafe, where Steve's truck was parked. You stood in front of the tall blond, gazing up at him.

“I just wanted to say thanks,” you answered after a moment, your eyes never leaving his, “If I had to be in this situation with anyone in the world, I'm just glad it's with you.”

Before you knew it, you found yourself in his arms, lips pressed gently against one another.

***

It was already dark by the time you and Steve got home with Morgan in tow. You had stayed at Wanda's place for a few hours, the two of you chatting up a storm while you were feeding Morgan. Much to your surprise, Bucky was there when you two showed up, saying he was helping fix some sort of leak coming from the kitchen sink.

But the both of you knew it was so he could see Morgan.

And after a quick run to the store to pick up a few things, the two of you finally made it home. Steve had volunteered to tend with Morgan while you went off to prepare a quick chicken dinner for the two of you. Rice with buttered panko crusted chicken breast and an assortment of steamed vegetables. By the time you were finished, Steve came walking into the kitchen, Thor following him and a baby monitor in his grasps.

“Morgan's down for the count,” Steve spoke, placing the monitor on the island counter, “That smells good too, what are you making?”

“Buttered panko crusted chicken,” was all you said, easily flipping the chicken with the tongs, “Just give me two more minutes.”

Leaning forward, Steve's arms rested against the cold surface of the island counter as he watched you cook. For awhile now, Steve found himself just watching you, whether you were tending to Morgan or even just sitting on the corner of the couch, reading one of those Japanese comic books. There was this homely feeling he got from you, it was a feeling he remembered when he was a kid, watching his mother cook or clean. It was a little weird to say the least, he never really got that with Peggy. But as much as he loved her, life was always on the go, he was never able to stop and take a moment to just stay.

It was a complete opposite with you.

“It's ready~”

Breaking away from his mild trance, his gaze moved away from you and to the plate that was presented in front of him.

“I hope you like it,” you spoke a little embarrassingly, your own plate in front of you.

_Maybe... Just maybe..._

“I do.”

The look on your face was slowly making him fall. And strangely enough, he didn't mind falling again.

After dinner, you and Steve sat together, watching a new episode of a Kdrama the two of you enjoyed watching. The blond became your new Asian Drama buddy whenever he was home, easily getting roped in, especially when you got so into the emotions. He sometimes would tease you, mainly at the parts when you cried.

“S-stop, that was sad,” you were practically pouting before wiping your eyes, “He's in love with her, but he's too stubborn to tell her! She needs to knock some sense into him--”

Steve couldn't help but laugh, “The other girl's in love with him too.”

“Yeah well, she hurt him by leaving him,” you argued, “She lost her chance when she left him. The main girl needs to tell him that she loves him too.”

It was so adorable with how passionate you could be for a fictional show.

From your little passionate speech, you had sat up straight, now within arm's length away from the blond. But it was out of nowhere that you felt Steve tug onto your arm, easily bringing you over so now you were facing him whist sitting on his lap. You blushed, taken by surprise by his actions. The blond couldn't help but chuckle at your expression, making you bite your lip shyly before awkwardly looking away, causing your some of your hair to fall onto your face. Your gaze returned to his when you felt his fingers on your cheek, gently tucking some of it behind your ear.

“Damn, doll,” he muttered, his baby blues never leaving your eyes, “I don't know what you're doing, but I'm going to need for you to stop.”

“I-I'm sorry?” you apologized, a little confused but blushing like crazy. It was at this point you felt his hand cupping your cheek as you gently placed your hand on top of his, leaning into his touch. It was after a moment you realized the question that had been gnawing on you since this morning, spilled out suddenly, “Steve, what are we doing?”

There was no turning back now.

He wasn't surprised, to be honest, he shouldn't have been surprised by your question, but he wasn't going to deny that it did take him a little by surprise. That was a question he asked himself all day but unsure how to exactly answer it. He was just so used to his on the go life, it just felt a little strange that you and Morgan were the brakes he never used.

“I'm going to be honest, I'm not exactly too sure...” he answered after what felt like an eternity. It was fast, but he did manage to catch an almost disappointed look on your face as you dropped your hand, but with instant reflexes, Steve catches your hand, fingers intertwined in front of the both of you, “But whatever it is, I would like for us to continue it and just see where it leads to.”

The smile on your face was the only answer he needed before bringing you close and closing whatever distance you two had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Butter cream fluff galore! xDDD Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! Thank you for all the kudos and comments! See you on the next chapter~


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